Sunday, March 2, 2014

Five Common Excuses Not To Learn a Foreign Language – guest post from Lingholic

Hi,

I don’t need to tell you that I like learning
languages. I know there are many people who don’t like to do so. When I ask
them why, there are some frequently repeated answers. It’s surprising these
people don’t know each other, but I hear the same reasons again and again. I
was very surprised when I found a blog calledLingholic. This blog has excellent articles that are helpful and I’d like to show
you the kind of excuses the author encounters when he asks, “Why aren’t you
learning a foreign language?” This article is based on the passage that I read
on Lingholic (written by Sam
Gendreau). I have added my
comments to each statement. Also, I will give two additional excuses that I hear
frequently. You can find Lingholic on Facefook as well.

Excuse Number
One - “I get by with
[English] just fine.”

“This excuse is probably the one that sounds the most reasonable, and
it’s most often used by native English speakers. The question that should be
asked, though, is: 'How do you know you get by with English just fine if you
haven’t truly tried learning and using a foreign language?' It’s kind of like
asking a frog in a well to come out and enjoy the pond, and being told 'I’m
just fine where I am.' Fair statement indeed.”

Maybe this excuse is frequent in English
speaking countries. Yes, indeed, native English speakers are very lucky, but it
doesn’t mean that they don’t need foreign languages. My native language is
Hungarian which is spoken by about 15 million people around the world. It’s a very
small part of the world. Nowadays, more and more Hungarian people learn and
speak foreign languages, but there are some who still think and say, “I get by
with Hungarian just fine.”

Excuse Number Two - “I don’t have time.”

“Learning a language is not very time consuming (you choose how much
time you wish to allocate to its study every day, and it can be very little),
and best of all it can be done from practically anywhere and at any time of the day. The second truth is that if you
believe you 'don’t have time' it’s probably because you have some time management
issues (we all do, to some extent). Learning how to use your time efficiently
is well worth the effort, though, and it’ll allow you to live a richer life and
do more interesting things, such as, who would’ve thought, learn a language!

Lastly, remember that consistency is crucial. Putting as little as 15 or
20mn a day learning a language will be enough to get you quite far at the end
of the year. But be consistent, and do it every day.”

If someone considers how much time he or she
wastes on other activities (such as watching TV 3-4 hours a day), it’s obvious
that this is nothing more than an excuse for himself/herself. I do agree with
the author. 15 minutes every day can help a lot. In my opinion, it’s better to
work on languages 15 minutes a day rather than 105 minutes on one occasion
(such as on each Sunday).

Excuse Number Three - “I’m too old to learn a
language.”

“I think I’ve heard this excuse one too many times. Whoever came up with
the idea that you had to somehow be under a certain age to learn a language should be fined.

First of all, this excuse presupposes that you either become too dumb to
learn any kind of skill as you grow older, or that learning a language is some
kind of race. Both of these statements are obviously false.

The truth is that millions of people of all ages around the world learn
languages. Saying 'I’m too old to learn a language' is just like saying 'I’m
too old to eat bananas.' Totally unrelated. Yes, it might be true to a certain
extent that as you grow older, learning a language might not come off as easily
as to younger people. Hell, walking to the supermarket might not come off as
easily as to the younger folks. Does that mean you’ll stop walking?

Language learning is no race or competition. It’s an enjoyable,
life-enriching journey that’s available to anyone of any age, gender, and
ethnicity.”

Maybe a young can learn quicker, but, believe
me, the brain is the kind of thing that needs to be used in order to preserve
its status. The more you use your brain, the better condition in which you can
keep it.

Excuse Number Four - “I’m not talented with
languages.”

“If you think you are not talented with languages, it probably has to do
with your track record in language classes at school. This isn’t surprising
because the curriculum of language classes is made so that it teaches languages
in one way (usually through grammar, drills, manufactured conversations),
whereas we all learn differently. It might be good at this point to mention
that doing interesting stuff does help
significantly in the acquisition of a foreign language.”

Yes, it’s true. I mentioned earlier that in
school I got C in English due to my teachers, poor methods, and bad books.I have to add that maybe my approach to
languages wasn’t appropriate. Later I changed my attitude towards learning
languages.

Excuse Number Five - “It’s too much time, money
and effort.”

Excuse number two mentioned the time factor, as well.

“Next, the money part. Yes taking language classes is expensive, and no
they are not necessary. This very blog contains enough resources to guide you
through the process of learning a language on your own, which can be done for
very little money (or even for entirely free). Learning a language on your own
is a flexible thing, it’s cheap, and it’s fun. I do it, and you can do it too.
The language learning community is here to help.”

Partly, I don’t agree with this statement.
Taking language classes is expensive, but it’s not true that “they are not necessary.” They can be
necessary depending on your purposes, teacher, and some other factors. Anyway,
Lingholic really gives good tips. I do the same, so please follow me.

“Finally, learning a language WILL require some effort from your part.
Living requires an effort.”

Yeah, it needs effort. However, knowing another
language opens new possibilities. As for me, I worked a lot on learning
English, and in the end I was able to spend four unforgettable months in the United States.

Any More Excuses?

“Today we’ve looked at five of the most common excuses that people make
up to rationalize their decision not to learn a language.”

So I give excuse number 6:

“I am afraid of making mistakes and I will be
laughed at native speakers.”

I will tell you a
secret. Even native speakers make mistakes every day, everywhere. I lived in
the States and I heard several mistakes even from native speakers. I’m sure I
make mistakes speaking my native language. They won’t laugh at you, and you
will be understood despite your mistakes. I won't tell you to not pay attention
to your mistakes. Try to speak accurately, especially during exams (such as
TOEFL), during presentations and every day life as well as you can. This
ambition, however, should NOT consume you, otherwise you become too tense and in
the end you cannot write or say anything. Which is better? To say nothing (you
don’t have any mistakes, it’s true) or to describe your thoughts with some
mistakes. The more you write or speak, the less mistakes you will make.

“As a language learner myself, I have thought
of these excuses before. Especially the excuse about not having enough time. In
reality, if you have the desire to learn a language, there is nothing that can
stop you from learning it. When you're truly interested in something, you
allocate money, time, and effort towards it. There are tons of free resources
out there and many people who are willing to do language exchanges with you
even (especially if you're fluent in English). Italki is definitely a great
site to meet people who are in the same boat as you and who are willing to
help. You just have to have dedication!”